Three Days of Hate: AkuRoku
There were three days in the year that Axel hated. He hated these three days with a burning passion to rival a thousand suns. First off, his birthday; second, Thanksgiving; and third, you guessed it, Christmas.
His birthday was actually a very enjoyable day for the first twelve or so years of his life. His parents doted on him, he got a cake, lots of presents, and all his friends came over to play on the playstation and stay the night. But he remembered his sixteenth birthday clearly. It was August, right before the start of his sophomore year of high school. He was turning 16. He had gotten his license that morning, but he didn't have a car yet. Still in the middle of soccer camp, his parents had dropped him off right after he received his license. He was supposed to go home at four. Four thirty passed; his parents still had not arrived. Five. He waved the coach off saying, "They're coming in from Radiant Garden! But they'll be around soon." Six o'clock, twenty calls to his mom, fifteen to his dad. No answer from either of them. Seven thirty rolled around and finally he saw his father's headlights come down the hill to his high school, coming to pick him up.
Three hours late. The first thing his father said to him, "You won't believe what the bitch has done this time."
His parents spent the rest of the night screaming at each other. Axel finally got to sleep at three a.m..
His seventeenth birthday, Axel spent curled in the corner of his room, attempting to not kill himself. His parents were blaming their marital problems on him. All he had wanted was to go out with Demyx and Roxas and grab some burgers. That definitely didn't happen.
The first thing Axel did on his eighteenth birthday was buy cigarettes legally. He dropped out of soccer after his sophomore year and had been smoking since. He went home to a drunk mother who wasn't even coherent enough to realize her only son had turned eighteen.
Needless to say, Axel Gonzales though August 8th was a really shit day.
During the Holidays in the 'grand' land of America, everyone over the age of twelve started stressing out somewhere around November first. Axel always made the mashed potatoes for Thanksgiving dinner. After the birthday fiasco, his mother was still trying to win back into his good graces and was attempting to make that year's thanksgiving dinner perfect. Of course, this just means that things went worse than usual. That year was the first time his parents physically fought. His dad came out with a black eye and his mother had a bruise spanning the length of her upper arm. The next year, his came out to his parents. He told them he was gay. He spent another night crying in his room, trying to keep his mother's screeches from his ears. The year after that, he attempted suicide for the first time. Roxas was the one to save him.
Needless to say, Axel Gonzales really hated Thanksgiving.
Axel always made chocolate caramel cookies on the first day of Christmas Break. It was a two-day process. Once they were finished, he kept them in a tin under his bed until Christmas day. His grandparents always praised him for them and his parents managed to paste on kind smiles until the elderly had left. Once grams and gramps had left, the screaming matches began. He was sixteen and the soccer season had just ended. He smoked his first cigarette. Seventeen, he cut himself for the first time.
Needless to say, Axel Gonzales thought Christmas was the work of the devil.
The Christmas after he turned eighteen was actually pretty okay. Midnight between Christmas Eve and Christmas, Roxas had shown up at his doorstep. The blond was red-faced and not from the cold, holding a bouquet of red lilies. Axel marveled for a moment at where Roxas found red lilies before realizing that the kid was on his doorstep. At midnight. On Christmas day.
"Roxas?" Axel asked with furrowed eyebrows. "What are you doing here? Do your parent know you're here?" He stepped to the side and let the blond into the house.
Roxas' teeth chattered as he stepped into the warm house and replied, "I had something I wanted to talk to you about. Is your mom and step dad asleep?" Roxas had ventured out of his house with nothing more on than pajama pants and a t-shirt in 55 degree weather. Twilight Town was fairly warm, but got cold enough for the long time residents. His eyes turned toward the floor, but his line of vision was blocked by the flowers still in his hands.
"Well yeah, why else would I be answering the door? But seriously Rox, what are you doing here?" Axel asked not even attempting to mask his worry. He was tired and just wanted to go to sleep. It had been a really long day watching his mother and her husband coo at each other and completely ignore him.
Roxas' face turned a deeper shade of red as he thrust the flowers at his friend. "Take them and promise not to say anything until I'm finished?" the blond asked, still not meeting the taller boy's eyes.
Axel nodded. Then realizing Roxas couldn't see him, he took the flowers from the blonde and replied, "Of course. Roxas, what's wrong?" he was legitimately concerned now. What could Roxas be so flustered about?
Roxas' fists clenched at his side and he took a deep breath. "No. Nothing is wrong. I… You are my best friend, Axel. Even though you have so much shit to deal with, you still help me with my petty high school problems. You're finally home after your first semester of college, living in a house that you can't stand. Yet on your first day back when my mom got mad at me for a good reason, and I called you, you were by my side five minutes later with hot chocolate. I…" he took another deep breath, "I think I'm in love with you and I'd be honored, if for Christmas, you'd come on a date with me."
Axel dropped the lilies.
A few moment of stunned silence passed before Roxas spoke up again. "Um… Axel? I'm finished…" his voice was soft, almost as if he didn't want to be heard. It had taken Roxas two years of building his courage to say this.
Axel snapped out of his thoughts. Thoughts along the lines of: omfg this is really happening this is actually happening the kid I've loved for years says he loves me back oh my fucking god I can't believe this this can't be happening Christmas sucks Christmas is not a good time what is this a fluke?
The redhead glanced at Roxas, who was finally meeting his eyes again. The taller boy's expression relaxed into an exuberant smile. "Roxas. I'd be more than delighted to go on a date with you," he finally replied before sweeping Roxas into a bone crushing hug.
They went on their first date later that day.
Axel's nineteenth birthday was spent helping Roxas move into a dorm at the university of the blond's choice, a mere twenty-minute bus ride away from Axel's.
Thanksgiving was spent in Roxas' family home, eating turkey and smiling with a kind family. Demyx dropped by to be annoying and get extra pumpkin pie since his dad had cut him off for the night.
For Christmas that year, Axel stayed in the dorms and Roxas came to visit. They made love for the first time on Christmas Eve.
When Axel turned twenty, Roxas baked him a three-tiered cake. It was complete with blue sea-salt icing. His blond boyfriend also bought him tickets to a Death Cab for Cutie show that they went to later that week.
Thanksgiving was spent moving into their own apartment. The two young men bought deli turkey and mashed potatoes in a box for their feast that year. It was a nice year.
At twenty years of age, Axel was looking forward to Christmas this year. He had Roxas' present picked out for months already and a fairly extravagant dinner planned out for the two of them. On Christmas Eve, he sent Roxas out for some more caramels for his cookies. As soon as his blond boyfriend was out of the small apartment, he set the table and began cooking the steaks he had bought the day before. Once all the cooking was done, all of ten minutes later, he loaded the meal onto plates and placed them on the little table. He topped it all off with a red lily in a tall glass in the center.
Roxas came home seconds later. It was two hours before they finally got back to eating their little Christmas dinner.
Needless to say, Axel really fucking loved the holidays.